Pulse of the
Library

The top objectives for using AI remain unchanged from 2024, with support for student learning and content discovery highest overall.

Upskilling and AI literacy needs

“People are very nervous because if you’ve got a well-trained AI, then why do you need people to work in libraries? But that’s the same conversation we had 15 years ago about Google. And roughly the same time frame ago around Wikipedia. It’s just a tool.”

Mike Kmiec, Product Lead Library Systems, University of Otago, New Zealand

Respondents place upskilling/reskilling at the top of expected impacts for librarian roles (56%), along with enabling staff to pursue more strategic and creative tasks (49%).

The majority (53%) have no plans to change staffing or roles in response to AI.

This represents an opportunity for libraries: structured AI literacy programs. 56% of respondents reported having no structured support for learning. Only 12% had formal AI training or onboarding.

There are increasing options available for library-tailored AI literacy learning, such as ACRL’s free AI Literacy program

The most important areas for developing AI literacy skills are content quality (57%) and the ethical use of AI (52%). For respondents from Asia, Europe, Rest of World and Mainland China, applying AI tools to support research and learning was a particularly strong focus (56% – 75%).

The need for thoughtful change management

There is a mismatch in perception between senior and more junior roles.

43% of senior librarians (Associate Deans, Deans, Library Directors) ranked their confidence in their understanding of AI as 4 or 5, compared to 36% for junior librarians.

Senior academic librarians (Associate Deans and Deans) were more likely to indicate that there is active encouragement for skills development (41%), while librarians were significantly less likely to indicate that such encouragement exists (31%).

Regional attitudes and adoption

“The Capital Normal University Library is actively exploring AI-based services, hoping to leverage AI to improve internal workflow efficiency and provide higher-quality services to faculty and students. However, current explorations are based on conventional, commercially available AI tools; innovative or unconventional AI applications have not yet been considered or explored.”

Yuan Zihan, Acquisition Librarian, Capital Normal University Library, Mainland China

Asia and Europe have continued to advance AI adoption, with 37- 40% in initial implementation or beyond, compared with 14-16% in 2024.

Respondents from the U.S. were more likely to be at earlier stages of exploration or have no plans (77% vs. 68% average).

Respondents in Europe were more likely to be highly confident in their understanding of AI (13%), compared with others (~9% average).

U.S. respondents are less optimistic (24.6% scoring 4 or 5 on a five-point scale), compared with a highly positive perspective among Asian respondents (67% scoring 4 or 5).

Deeper understanding of AI’s challenges and risks

“I think there’s a lot of things that we need to consider when we’re thinking about [AI], privacy, copyright that hasn’t been determined yet, or environmental concerns.”

Emily Zerrenner, Research and Instructional Services Librarian, Salisbury University, U.S.

In 2024, lack of expertise was the top concern. In 2025, budget overtook skills as the greatest barrier.

• • Budgets now represent the greatest concern for AI adoption (62%), up from 56% in 2024.
  • Privacy and security remain the top concern for public libraries (65%), consistent with 2024.
  • Lack of expertise is still in the top 3, but no longer ranked as the top concern, aligning with the higher numbers engaging in AI exploration in 2025, and considerations around upskilling.
  • Research and academic integrity remains a further top concern for academic libraries.
  • Collection librarians face unique challenges. They are least optimistic about the benefits from AI (35% pessimistic) and show higher concern about the potential impact of AI on job displacement. This is unsurprising, given they are the group most directly navigating the realities of funding cuts and new policy demands (see external forces).

“Academic librarians can help advance research integrity by coaching faculty and students. We can work with them side by side to say: Hey, I understand getting a blockbuster result is the very best outcome that you can hope for here. But if that comes at the price of manipulating your data, which could possibly lead to a retraction or damage to your scholarly reputation, you’re going to have a real hard time repairing that.”

David Runyon, Director of Library Services, Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine, U.S.

Open access and open science

“In Japan, with the growing trend toward open access, there is an increasing expectation —even among small university libraries — for libraries to play a stronger role in supporting research…libraries will likely need to manage useful open access resources that align with the academic programs and specialized fields established by their universities.”

Minoru Yamada, Senior Library Administrator, Aichi Shukutoku University Library, Japan

Funding cuts are impacting OA collections strategies for almost half of respondents, especially academic libraries (50% noting greater impact). Those impacted by funding cuts place more importance on OA collections, particularly collections librarians.

Budget and geopolitical challenges

The top challenge for libraries remains budget pressures, selected by almost half of all respondents (47%). This continues to run far ahead of other challenges, including technological impact.

We observed a shift in the primary mission for academic libraries, compared to 2024. Prioritizing student engagement and retention (40%) were chosen over research support (35%), reflecting the continued decline in funding from student fees, with respondents from the U.S. and the U.K. most focused on this (54% and 78% respectively).

Library missions mostly unchanged

Core library missions have remained largely stable.

The only shift observed is in academic libraries, where student engagement emerges as a greater strategic focus in 2025 (40%), while research support has declined as a priority (35%, down from 41% in 2024).

Community engagement remains the primary mission for public libraries (50%).

Collection & preservation continues to be the primary mission for national libraries (42%).

Public library trends – survey snapshot

“We’re helping people learn how to use AI and in the same day we’re helping people learn how to type on a computer. There’s such a wide gap between information and knowledge and in today’s society, librarians have to be that bridge.”

Olivia Bowers, Adult Services & Programming Supervisor, Berkshire Athenaeum Public Library, U.S.

Community engagement remains the primary mission for public libraries, with 50% of responses selecting this objective, up from 38% in 2024. This indicates that the future priorities of these libraries remain constant, regardless of changes in the library technology environment.

Public libraries are taking a cautious approach to AI.

• 54% have no plans or are not actively pursuing AI. Privacy and security (65%) continues to be a top concern. There is greater uncertainty about the impact of AI on staff roles.
• For those considering AI, enhancing staff productivity (53%) and streamlining administrative processes (40%) remain the most important objectives.

“In five years, the role of the librarian is going to be so much more digital. I think most librarians in five years are going to have far more IT skills than they have today.”

Steve Powell, Director of Orange County Library System, U.S.